The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Learn more

Heather Booth

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Heather Booth until we are able to commission a full entry.

Heather Booth.

Heather Booth helped transform the American political landscape from her early involvement in both civil rights and abortion rights through her campaign for marriage equality. Heather Booth began participating in the civil rights movement with sit-ins and travelling to Mississippi for Freedom Summer. On her return, she began the first women’s movement organization on a school campus and spearheaded JANE, an abortion counseling service, risking criminal charges in the days before Roe v. Wade. She went on to direct a number of vital national organizations and campaigns, and founded the Midwest Academy to train leaders of social change organizations. As executive director of the NAACP National Voter Fund, she helped increase African American turnout in the 2000 election by two million voters. She has consulted for projects ranging from preserving social security and Medicare to immigration to regulating the finance industry, and was the national coordinator for efforts around the country supporting marriage equality.

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Heather Booth." (Viewed on June 8, 2023) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/booth-heather>.

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